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The Sounds of Baseball

Natives of Nashville, Tennessee have been relying on the Nashville Sounds to give them their professional baseball fix for decades now.

The Nashville Sounds have called Herschel Greer Stadium home since 1978 and it has seen some great teams over the years, including 2005 when they won the Pacific Coast League championship.

This historic stadium holds over 10,000 fans and definitely draws the eye in left field with the infamous guitar shaped scoreboard.

3.0

What is FANFARE?

The FANFARE scale is our metric device for rating each stadium experience. It covers the following:

Food & Beverage

Atmosphere

Neighborhood

Fans

Access

Return on Investment

Extras

Each area is rated from 0 to 5 stars with 5 being the best. The overall composite score is the "FANFARE Score".

Food & Beverage
4

Although the menu is somewhat limited, you really can't beat the prices. All of your basic concession items were $2, with more unique items like chicken strip baskets no more than $5.

There's also a separate pizza stand that's run by Hunt Brother's Pizza. They offer personal pizzas and also wings.

The beer selection is well above par with options such as Heineken, Stella and Red Stripe.

My most recent visit was on a Thursday night, which has been a popular night to see a Sounds game for years now. It's usually been called "Thirsty Thursdays", but since then it has adopted the name "Taco Bell Throwback Thursdays".

Basically the Sounds wear their throwback jersey, and most draft beer is just $2. It's a pretty good way to get people into your ballpark if you ask me.

Atmosphere
3

Even though Greer Stadium has become vastly outdated in contrast to other AAA ballparks, there's still a lot to enjoy about this ballpark as well. Something that really stuck out at Greer Stadium was all the additional places to watch the game other than typical seating.

There are three party decks located all throughout the park, including the Bud Light party deck that goes down the third base side. There's also indoor seating above the press box that offers a great view to the game, and it was packed during the game I attended.

However, there's a lot to be desired with the bucket seats. There's very little leg room and no cup holders. Our section was packed in behind the Sounds dugout, and you were pretty much stuck in one position without hitting the person sitting in the row in front of you.

Greer Stadium offered what seemed to be more than your average amount of fun contests for fans to get involved in. The one that stood out the most was having three fans race to third base while rolling a large tire. It offered some good laughs between innings.

Overall the atmosphere is what you would expect at a minor league baseball game, but nothing spectacular either.

Neighborhood
1

This is one of the weak points of a trip to Greer Stadium. Most of your popular ballparks are located near some sort of eating establishment, but there is absolutely nothing within a mile. You'll have to drive a few blocks to even get to a fast food restaurant.

The surrounding area is actually located on a Civil War site, and the residential area around that obviously offers nothing in terms of pre-game or post-game entertainment.

It would be nice to see a few restaurants sprout up in the immediate area, and it would probably help spike attendance numbers as well.

Fans
4

The fans certainly brought their enthusiasm to this game despite their team not playing all that well at the moment. This became very clear after the Sounds hit a mammoth home run during the middle portion of the game.

It was also a very large turnout for a weeknight game, with the inner sections being virtually full.

During many of the in-game contests, the fans showed plenty of enthusiasm as well. Fans cheering on other fans while doing challenging contests always make things more fun.

Access
2

Greer Stadium is just a few miles from downtown, but it could certainly pose a challenge finding it if you're not familiar with Nashville. It's actually easy to get turned around even if you are from Nashville, but don't frequent the ballpark regularly.

Greer Stadium is really nestled off the beaten path from downtown, so you have to be paying attention to road signs when looking for it. You basically have to make a few turns off the main road before the stadium lights become visible. Since there isn't much in the neighborhood to block the view of the stadium, you can just follow the view until you come upon the parking lots.

There is a main parking lot and a smaller lot across the street. Both are fenced in and a short walk to the gates.

Return on Investment
4

Ticket prices are right around what you would expect for AAA baseball in a big city like Nashville. General admission tickets are usually $10, while reserved ticket prices are $14. If you buy your tickets in advance, then you can save $2 on general admission and reserved seating. There's also a $2 discount for members of the military, which is a great offering.

You really can't argue with the prices at all when you consider it's just one step below the MLB, and the whole family can enjoy a nice night out at the ballpark for a fair price.

Extras
3

First and foremost, I've never seen a mascot so much into the game as Ozzie was for the Nashville Sounds. A great example of this was when he was mocking the other team as they were propped up against the dugout just before the game. Great mascots help keep the seats full on a consistent basis.

Another bonus goes to how successful Thursday nights have been for the Nashville Sounds for a long time now. Thursday night home games have been notorious for offering $2 concession items, and this night helped the Sounds get a great home crowd supporting them.

Finally, the night of my recent visit was a very special occasion as Governor Bill Haslem was part of a pre-game ceremony called "Dedication to Education". A great cause to support before the game, and the crowd seemed to agree.

Final Thoughts

With the exception of the cosmetics of Greer Stadium, there is a lot to enjoy about attending a game at this historic ballpark. Greer Stadium has been around for over 30 years now and still gets jam packed full of baseball fans on a consistent basis.

The only thing holding this ballpark back is it needs to be updated, but the product inside the old walls of Greer Stadium is still a good one for baseball fans.

Greer Stadium

Having lived in Nashville for 12 years, I've been to Greer probably 200 times. If the stadium were anywhere else in the city, it might be a little more tolerable. I'm not normally one for a city falling all over itself for a downtown ballpark, but Nashville just might work.

One of the interesting menu items during my time there was a fried cheesecake. I don't know if they still serve it, but if so, it's certainly worth a try. Think of an apple pie-type dessert with "cheesecake" filling.

I believe that Nashville wants to embrace the Sounds more than they do. They have a ton of tradition in this city, but as you stated in your comment, it's in a horrible location. Nothing is going on in that immediate area, and the stadium needs some major cosmetic upgrades.

There are a lot of baseball fans in Nashville that want a better baseball venue. At the very least, an upgrade at the current site.

I have to agree. While Greer Stadium is always high on our list of places to visit while in Nashville, baseball needs a shot in the arm in the way of a new park closer to, or in downtown. I can't help but think a new downtown park would be hugely successful, as has been the case with almost every new downtown park in MiLB over the past few years.

Last year marked the end of this great ballpark that was built for 1,000,000 dollars privately and then went through several phases of updates, until the original Owners sold to an Illinois group who did little to keep the facility fresh or even refreshed! We now have a state of the art facility in north part of downtown Nashville that will make you totally forget about "venerable" Greer Stadium and it's called First Tennessee Park! Come on out, because it is everything that you could love about a minor or for that fact major league ballpark!

Crowd Reviews

The Sounds of Nashville

Total Score: 2.71

Nashville is called the Music City for a good reason. Everywhere you look you can certainly see that Nashville was a city built by Country Music. Even Nashville's AAA affiliate to the Milwaukee Brewers is named after the music produced in the city, called the Nashville Sounds. Baseball has always been a part of Nashville going all the way back to 1860, but for a time baseball completely disappeared from the Music City in the mid-sixties and didn't return again until 1978.

Many in the country music industry embraced the return of baseball to Nashville and several of the Nashville Sounds new stockholders were well known country music icons of the time.

Along with music, Nashville is also known as a sports city and is home to the NFL's Tennessee Titans as well as the the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League. The Nashville Sounds' home field is Herschel Greer Stadium.

Greer Stadium is located just south of downtown Nashville near the intersection of I-65 and I-40. Greer Stadium was built in 1978 and has served as the Sounds' home field for over 30 years.

Music City Baseball

Total Score: 3.14

Greer Stadium, home to the Nashville Sounds, is a very unique and family-oriented ballpark. Even after attending my last game just under three years ago, this remains one of my favorite ballparks due to its guitar-shaped scoreboard and friendly atmosphere.

Out of Date, Yet Quirky

Total Score: 3.43

This is the last year the Sounds play at Greer Stadium. Going there, you sense the venue is incredibly out-of-date, like you were back in the late 70's-80's, before the new wave of good ballparks came in.

It is a unique experience to go to this park as it has a charm that you don't find in some of the newer, better parks so if you are in the area you should try it for one game.

FOOD: Nothing out of the ordinary. Some BBQ, Cheesesteaks, and that is really about it. Overall the taste is good and the foods are affordable.

ATMOSPHERE: You get one thing from this park for the most part: baseball. And that is all you need here.

NEIGHBORHOOD: You are in an industrial area of the park and the only two things around to grab some food or drinks are a strip club and a Burger King down the road. That's it. And I wouldn't stay around too late after a game either. It doesn't seem like it is the best area around.

FANS: Friendly, knowledgeable, and into the game. And they are ready for the new ballpark themselves.

ACCESS: It is off of I-65 and I-40. That's the good news. Parking is plentiful, but the problem is getting out of the park. They bury you by the left field line, which creates nightmares after the game.

ROI: Everything is very affordable for a Triple-A game. It probably won't be this way when the Sounds get their new park.

EXTRAS: Besides Ozzie the mascot, the Sounds have a unique scoreboard in the shape of a guitar. However, the scoreboard itself is very obsolete as it is in black & white with the ads larger than the screen itself.

A Replacement Needed, and finally coming

Total Score: 2.71

Since I moved to Nashville, I've tried to go to a few games at Greer Stadium every year. The seats are still originals I believe, and are still in the blue color the team wore prior to the late '90s, but are all a different color due to fading over the year. The general admission bleachers are warped and rotting away. It is a rarity that the stadium is more than half full. Reaching the stadium is somewhat easy if you follow the signs off the exit off of I-65, and parking is $5 across the street from the stadium. Truly, the only thing that keeps Greer from being the most generic stadium in Triple A is the scoreboard. If you want to go to Greer, I suggest a "Throwback Thursday" where food and drinks are $2. However, like many Nashville baseball fans, I'm looking forward to First Tennessee Park opening next year.

Nashville Sounds

Total Score: 2.43

Next year they are moving to a new stadium dntn and its about time. Stadium is beat up. Recently attended a game and went to sit down in a single seat, and the seat came loose!! Luckily, I didn't fall, and staff made sure I wasn't hurt. Pretty funny seeing them carry broken seat away. An usher told me that they have put little money into improving the stadium since they are moving. Stands are all metal, so the seat bolts just rusted away. Located in an industrial area about 1.5 miles from the downtown entertainment district. Just ate a hot dog, but it was good. Prices reasonable for AAA. Crowd was sparse, but it was a Tuesday night. Can't wait until new dntn stadium opens next year.